


Be Nice

by GoldenEnderFox



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Children, F/M, Misffle - Freeform, School, TenRose - Freeform, pinkwald, twissy, whouffaldi, whouffle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-02
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 18:14:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6435055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenEnderFox/pseuds/GoldenEnderFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clara has a son called Toby who goes to Coal Hill school. John (The Doctor) has a daughter called Ella who goes to Coal Hill school. Can the two children's hate for each other bring John and Clara closer together?<br/>AU where Clara falls in love with John but doesn't want to go to far in the relationship in fear of having another divorce. Clara and Toby are trying to avoid Clara's ex-husband because he his threatening to hurt Toby. John has to keep his ex-wife happy if he wants to continue seeing Ella.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The New Kid

**Clara works as a teacher at Coal Hill school and her son also attends this school. The Doctor (John Smith) is an upcoming musician and his daughter attends Coal Hill school. Can the two children's hate for each other bring Clara and John together?**

"What did you do now?" Clara questioned as she entered her son's room at 5:30pm.

"Nothing." he muttered as he lay back on his bed and turned the Xbox on. Clara's fourteen year old son pulled out his controller and headset from the drawer next to him.

"Toby Allyn Oswald." she said in a stern tone. Toby knew that whenever used his full name it meant that Clara was angry... And she was hardly ever angry. But still... Toby didn't really care. He knew that Clara wasn't capable of giving him a severe punishment, his dad was the one who used to do that, "Missy told me that she gave you detention. Why?"

"Don't call teachers by their real name." he cringed as he waiting for Black Ops 3 to load up, "It's weird."

Clara groaned, "Fine! Miss Saxon. Tell me why she gave you detention." he had to stay after school tomorrow for an hour and complete lots of work that he hadn't completed.

Toby sighed, "I erm... I didn't finish any of my work for the past three weeks and I swore at one of the other students." he explained.

"I can't have you fail science, Toby!" his mother exclaimed.

"At least I'm not failing in your class." he replied.

"Speaking of my class. You have English homework that needs completing by next week." she started, "And why did you swear at another student?!"

"They were being annoying! They wouldn't shut up so I told them to." he said, "With the use of a few words that I probably shouldn't have used..."

With a sigh of disappointment, Clara asked, "Did you at least say sorry to them?"

"Miss Saxon practically forced me to... So yeah I did." he assured.

"Okay okay! I can't be bothered to deal with this! Let's just let it slide. Do you want food?" Toby knew that this would happen. It was way too easy when it came to getting away with things. As long as he 'apologised' it would all be fine and his mother would just shower him with gifts! It was VERY rare to be given a punishment by her.

"Yeah. Please." he gave her a small smile.

She nodded, "It will done in ten minutes then. We're having pizza."

"Okay." and with that, Clara left the room. He ended up eating the pizza and playing on the Xbox until 10pm before going straight to sleep.

* * *

"Get up! We have to leave for school in thirty minutes!" Clara's voice boomed into Toby's ears as she pulled the curtains open allowing the sun to beam in. Toby groaned as he pulled the cover over his face.

"I'm sick." he mumbled.

"Don't lie to me, Toby. You are perfectly capable of going school today. And even if you were ill you would STILL have to go school. I can't trust to leave you on your own anymore... not after last time." the last time that Toby was 'ill' he decided to allow stray dogs into the house who destroyed almost everything.

He jumped up from the bed, "Not my fault that I wanted to help the animals." Clara just rolled her eyes.

"Just get dressed!" she exclaimed before leaving the room.

Even though Clara was hardly ever angry towards Toby, he knew that she was on the inside. She was sad, angry, unhappy... the list could go on. All of these traits started to occur when she and his dad split up. He was cheating on her with some other woman and Clara wasn't the only one angry at him... Toby was too. He felt like he hated his father. Though Toby didn't show it, he loved his mother. He loved living with her. Just him and her. Nobody else. The way it was supposed to be.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast they both hopped into the car. Toby instantly put his headphones in causing Clara to sigh in annoyance. She started to head to the school.

Clara was starting to get sick of the same daily routine. Wake up. Have breakfast. Get in the car with Toby. Watch Toby put in his headphones and KEEP them in for the whole twenty minute car journey. Get to school. Teach for a few hours. Go home. Make dinner while Toby went to his room to play games or go out with his friends. Go bed. Every single day was the same. In all honesty, Clara was just plain bored with life. Sometimes she wishes that it was different. Not just work eat and sleep. She didn't do much on weekends either. Wake up. Make breakfast. Toby would be in his room for the whole weekend and only emerge when he wanted food or to go and visit a friend. She would just read a book or browse the Internet aimlessly.

She pulled a headphone out of Toby's ear, "A new kid is joining our English class today."

"New kid?" Toby questioned. Clara nodded.

"They won't be in the school til last lesson as that is when English is."

"Why won't they be in for the rest of the day?" Toby questioned. He didn't really care about the 'new kid'... he was just curious as to why they got the first five hours of school off.

"Because we haven't decided what teachers should teach her yet." she replied, "I'm the only teacher that has been confirmed for her." she paused, "And considering that she is going to be sitting next to you. I thought you would like to know her name. Ella Layne Smith."

"Wh-what!? Why is she sitting next to me?!"

"The only available seat in the room is next to yours. And I don't want to change the seating plan, so I'm afraid... you're just going to have to deal with it. So... Be. Nice. Otherwise you will receive a detention from Miss Saxon AND me." If Clara was still with Toby's father then this threat would be true. But now that they were divorced, Toby knew that his mother was all bark an no bite.

Toby sighed, "Yeah. Whatever."

Once they reached the school, Toby took out his headphones and put his phone in his bag making sure that it was on silent. They both then exited the car. Toby had been going to Coal Hill for three years now and he had only recently gotten used to walking into the building with his own mother.

As they approached the building, Clara told him, "When you've done your detention come to my office, then we'll go home. We'll stop off for fish and chips on the way if you want."

Toby groaned at the thought of detention for an hour... but at least he had fish and chips to look forward to, "Okay." he simply said before entering the building and heading off to his Science class where Miss Saxon awaited him.

* * *

Clara sat at her desk in her classroom. The clock read 1:58pm... two minutes until English started. Two minutes until Ella Smith would join her class. She stood up and walked over to the numerous desks, placing paper on each one. They were going to do a questionnaire and considering that it was almost Christmas they were going to relax and watch a film for the last forty minutes of the lesson. Clara was DEFINITELY looking forward to that as she could perhaps nap. She hadn't slept properly ever since her divorce a year and a half ago.

Finally, the bell rang and Clara could hear multiple students running around the halls outside. Seconds later, students started to flood in to the room one by one. Ella Smith was one of the first. Clara directed her to her seat and she nodded in appreciation. Clara could tell that Ella wasn't a shy girl, Clara feared that she might get into one of the 'popular' groups and start smoking and doing drugs. She shook her head and quickly returned to her desk and waited for the rest of the class to arrive.

Toby soon entered the room with his two best friends, Alex Robinson: he looked like a good kid on the outside, but on the inside he was a pain. And Connor Olivier: he was one of the smartest kids in class. But, unfortunately, he could be a pain aswell. Toby tended to behave in Clara's class, considering that she is his mother, but sometimes he liked to show off to his friends...

The three boys had to sit apart from each other... Clara's rules. Toby sighed as his eyes landed on Ella. Ella had brown hair and once Toby got closer he noticed that she had hypnotising icy blue eyes. He quickly shook his head before sitting down next to her.

"Okay, class. We have a new addition. Her name is Ella." seconds later, Clara continued, "Anyways, considering that it is near Christmas we will be watching a film." the kids then all had smiles on their faces, "But first, you have to complete this questionnaire on Jane Austen." some of the children then audibly groaned before reluctantly looking down at the piece of paper in front of them. Clara was about to tell Ella that she didn't have to complete the questionnaire but Ella was already writing away, faster than everyone else in the class.

About twenty minutes later, Clara collected the questionnaires before turning the projector on and putting on 'Doctor Who: The Next Doctor'. As suggested by multiple different students. She then moved her chair to the back of the class so that she wasn't in front of the screen, she then folded her arms and soon drifted of into slumber.

The bell was what woke Clara up and all of the children scattered out of the room except for Ella. She had to stay and wait for her father so that Clara could talk to him. Clara put her chair back behind her desk and turned the projector off. Minutes later Ella's father, at least Clara assumed that he was her father, walked in. Clara never expected 'Mr Smith' to be so... handsome? She couldn't think of the right word at the time. He was wearing a red velvet coat which looked rather intriguing.

"Hello you must be Mrs Oswald." he said.

"Just Miss Oswald. But you can call me Clara." she said as she extended her hand, "And you must be Mr Smith."

He nodded as he shook her hand, "You can call me John, Clara." Clara couldn't help but notice John's unusual blue/grey eyes. She quickly coughed awkwardly before saying.

"So erm..." Ella was currently sitting at her desk, tapping mindlessly.

"Is El behaving in class?" John asked.

"Yes. Perfect. I think that she will have Miss Saxon for Science and maybe Mr Pink for Maths. Her Geography teacher and PE teacher hasn't been decided yet. It will be finalised by Sunday." Clara explained, "I will also personally need your phone number as I'm going to be her tutor. I might need to call you when it comes to grades and parents evening."

John raised his eyebrow with a smile, "Are you sure that you aren't just trying to get my number so you can call me for a date or something?" he joked.

"Strictly professional." she quickly stated.

"I'm joking, Clara. So..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pen and notebook, he wrote down his number before tearing the page and handing it to her.

"Thanks." Clara nodded.

John let looked over at Ella, "Come on then, Ella." Ella sighed before standing up and heading towards the door, "It was nice to meet you, Clara."

"Likewise." she replied before watching John and Ella exit the room. She then bit her lip with a smile before exiting the room herself, she walked towards her office and awaited the arrival of her son.


	2. Free Food Is A Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clara and John unexpectedly run into each other

Clara sat in her office, tapping on the desk mindlessly as she marked some test papers. Toby should be out of detention in ten minutes according to the clock.

"Afternoon, Clara."

Clara looked up to see one of her co-workers, "Oh. Hi, Danny." Clara had to admit that she did have a teensy tiny crush on Danny... and that wasn't an understatement... it was a VERY small crush. Meaning it wouldn't be the end of the world if she didn't go out with him.

"Adrian wanted to know if you were coming on the camping trip." Danny said.

"Camping trip?" Clara questioned.

"Yes. On Monday Adrian, Missy and I are taking your English class and my Maths class on a camping trip. To celebrate Christmas. We wanted to know if you'd like to come. It's only for one night."

She nodded, "Yeah sure."

"Good. We're getting on the coach at ten on Monday morning and we should arrive at the campsite by twelve." Danny started, "We still need one more person to supervise but we'll figure that out over the weekend."

"Okay. See you on Monday."

"See you later, Clara." he said before exiting the office. Clara sighed, at least it was Saturday tomorrow... she could have two days of nothing but complete sleep before the restless camping trip. Clara continued to mark the papers on her desk before her son finally walked into the room.

"Can we go home now?" Toby asked.

"Yeah, I've had enough marking for one day." she agreed before shoving the remaining papers into her desk. She stood up and they headed out of the office, she locked the door behind her in the process. They exited the school building, the sky was already getting dark considering that it was winter. Clara and Toby hopped into the car and headed off to the fish and chip shop round the corner. "Stay in the car." Clara told Toby as she opened the door. Toby gave her a small nod before putting his headphones in his ears.

Clara exited the car and entered the fish and chip shop, she walked up to counter and ordered a large bag of chips and two medium Coca-Colas. The man went off to prepare the order.

"Hello, Miss Oswald. Didn't expect to see you here." Clara turned to see John.

"Oh, John. Didn't expect to see you here either." she stated.

"My brother, David, owns the place. It's a good thing considering that I get free service."

Clara smiled, "I suppose it is."

"John, hurry up and get the damn food!" a man called from one of the tables.

"Shut up, Harkness. I'm working on it." John replied, "Don't mind, Jack. He can be really annoying." Clara nodded. John then coughed awkwardly, "I could er... I could get your food for you for free."

"Oh, no no no. I-It's fine." Clara stammered.

"To say thanks." John began, "For keeping my daughter in line in class."

"I didn't need to keep her in line. She was no trouble."

"Clara Oswald, I insist." he continued. Clara gave him a concerned look.

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure." he confirmed. The man who had previously taken Clara's order came back to the counter with her chips and drinks.

"Hey, John." he said as he placed Clara's order onto the counter.

"Hey, Mickey. Listen... I was hoping that you could let this lady have her order on the house." John replied. Clara wasn't too sure about this...

Mickey sighed, "David is gonna be pissed if he finds out about this, John. But I guess I can abide."

"Really, It's no problem. I'll pay if it makes things easier." Clara assured.

"It's fine, Clara. I'm serious. I also wanted to say thanks for making my daughter feel welcomed into the class." John told her.

"Speaking of Ella... where is she now? I thought you were bringing her round for food today!" Mickey exclaimed.

"Change of plans. I dropped her off at her mother's. I'm picking her up tomorrow." John said. For some reason, this made Clara smile. Knowing that John was assumed 'single' made Clara feel weird on the inside.

Clara coughed awkwardly before grabbing the bag of food and drink off of the counter, "Well er... thank you, John. But Toby is waiting in the car so I can't stay for much longer."

"Toby?" John questioned. He had his suspicions that Toby might be Clara's 'boyfriend'.

"My son, yeah." she replied. John, for some unknown reason, felt relieved knowing that Clara possibly didn't have a boyfriend. Clara nodded, "Thanks again. I'll see you when I see you." she turned and headed for the door. As soon as the door shut Jack made his way over to John.

"Well well well well well well well... Is there some secret relationship you're not telling us about?" Jack questioned.

"Stop it, Jack." John groaned, "I only met her like an hour ago. She's Ella's new English teacher." John was glad that he, Jack and Mickey were the only ones in the the fish and chip shop... Until the door burst open to reveal his brother David and David's girlfriend Rose.

"Hey, bro!" David exclaimed, "Where's Ella?"

"At Catherine's." he replied.

"David, did you know that Johnny here has a new girlfriend?" Jack teased.

"What?!" David exclaimed.

"Seriously?" Rose questioned.

"No! No, I don't!" John assured.

"He only met the woman an hour ago, Jack." Mickey smirked.

"So there is a _woman_..." David raised his eyebrows with a smile.

"Yeah, John gave her free food. Love at first sight." Jack joked with a smirk of his own.

David groaned, "You better not give this _woman_ anymore free food, John! Business is bad enough as it is!"

"Who's the lucky girl?" Rose asked.

"I only managed to catch it... But I think it's Clara Oswald." Mickey stated as he went off into the kitchen to fetch some food.

David smirked, "Nice name." Rose glared at David before hitting him round the back of the head.

"Nice girl." Jack chuckled.

"Don't get any ideas, Harkness." John said.

Jack raised his hands up in surrender, "I'm only messing around, Doc." Jack said, using John's signature nickname, "You're the one who shouldn't be getting any ideas."

"I'm not." John stated, "I was just thanking her for helping with Ella."

"Riiiggghhttt..." David said, "Maybe I should go and this Clara Oswald and warn her about your history of divorces."

"I've only had one divorce David, and that happened a year ago."

"The marriage didn't last too long though, did it?" Rose asked.

John shook his head as Mickey came back with five plates of fish and chips. The five then made their way to a table and sat down, "It only lasted for about a year. I knew that I shouldn't have married Catherine."

"Why have I never heard the whole story about your marriage with Catherine?!" Jack exclaimed. David quickly stood up and walked over to the door to change the sign to 'Closed' before making his way back to the table and taking his seat next to Rose.

"It's nothing much." John assured as he popped a chip into his mouth, "She said, 'Marry me or I will stop you from seeing Ella' and I guess I just got a bit worried, ya know?"

"And yet... here you are divorced to her and you see Ella more than she does." Rose smiled as David fed her a chip.

"Why did Catherine want to marry you anyway?" Mickey questioned.

"She wanted to prove to her brother and sister that she could get married." John shrugged.

"Now that... is a stupid reason." Jack stated.

* * *

Once Clara and Toby arrived home, Clara put the chips onto two plates before heading into the living room. They both sat down on the sofa and flicked the TV on.

"Why do I have to go camping on Monday?" Toby asked.

"Because I'm going and I'm not leaving you alone." Clara stated.

"Can't I stay with dad?" he asked, even though his voice sounded nervous.

"You know you can't. You know that he is dangerous, Toby."

"Yeah." Toby sighed sadly. Clara thought it would be best if Toby had a father figure but... she knew that Toby wouldn't want that. He gets afraid when Clara goes on blind dates because he thinks that they're going to hurt her and him the way that his dad did. Both physically and mentally.


	3. I Hate You, You Hate Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Toby come up with a plan together

Just as John was about to finish off the last chip on his plate, his phone dinged.

"Is that the mysterious Clara Oswald?" David teased.

John groaned as he looked at the phone, "No. No it is not."

"Wait... So you gave her your number?" Jack questioned.

"For professional reasons. Yes. The school would've ended up giving her my number anyway so..." he replied as he unlocked his phone and headed to the text messages.

"Sure. 'Professional'." Rose joked.

"Well who is it from. Tell." Mickey said.

The text message on John's phone said: 'This message has been sent to all parents of students from Year 9 and 10 from Coal Hill School. We are looking for a volunteer to assist some of the teachers on a camping trip to supervise students from Mr Pink's Maths class and Miss Oswald's English class. Please reply back if you available to help on Monday morning. We will be back at the school by Tuesday evening. -Mr Simm (Headteacher of Coal Hill)'

"You gonna do it? I mean... It sounds like _Miss Oswald_ is going too." Jack said as he read John's phone.

John rolled his eyes before tossing the phone onto the table, "Don't care."

"Yes you do." David stated.

"Definitely." Mickey agreed.

"Seriously. I don't." John assured them.

Rose shrugged, "Maybe you actually don't. Maybe you are just trying to thank her." then there was silence.

"Nah. He doesn't just be nice to thank someone!" Jack exclaimed as he grabbed John's phone from the table.

"What are you doing?!" John questioned as Jack kept phone away from him. David keeping John back as best he could.

"Oh, nothing..." Jack muttered as he texted the school: 'This is John Smith. I am the father of Ella Smith in Miss Oswald's English class. I would like to volunteer for the camping trip on Monday if the place is still available.' "You can thank me later." Jack said as he pressed send. Seconds later Mr Simm messaged back.

'Excellent Mr Smith! We will see you on Monday morning. The coach leaves at 10. -Mr Simm.' John groaned causing everyone else to laugh.

* * *

The weekend seemed to fly by and Clara hadn't gotten much sleep. Here's to another restless night. It was 8 in morning on the dreaded Monday, Toby was packing the rest of his things and so was Clara. Clara's ex-husband, James, had texted her over the weekend demanding to see Toby but of course... Clara ignored him. She was so glad that James had no idea where she lived. Authorities thought it would be best if Alex stayed away from Clara and Toby and if he wanted to see his son then at least two officers had to accompany him and meet in a public place... but James didn't want that... he wanted to see Toby on his own at Clara's house and Clara would never allow that. Clara had once loved James, it was kind of like the 'love at first sight' cliché but then ended a lot quicker than expected. Perhaps this camping trip was a good thing, it might take her mind off of things.

Once she had packed her small suitcase she looked out of the window. She was glad to see blue skies with no clouds and a very bright sun. Perfect day for camping... hopefully it won't rain. Clara then picked up her phone from the bedside table and she had a text: 'Have fun at camping, hun! x' It was from Amy. God, Clara hated and loved her friend Amelia Pond.

'Hopefully it doesn't rain x Call u tomorrow so we can make plans. Haven't seen u in weeks! x' she deposited the phone into her pocket before taking her suitcase downstairs. Amy and her husband Rory had helped Clara by providing a bit of money so she could have a proper house instead of a flat. She was eternally grateful to them. Without Amy and Rory, she would be living in a dirty run-down flat and Toby probably would've been taken into care. Clara would break down if anything ever happened to her son.

She placed the suitcase next to the door and then headed into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. There was no need to make lunch as they were stopping off at a cafe at around midday. Hopefully it won't be to hectic considering there are about twenty five students going. There would be more but some refused to go. Toby came down minutes later with his suitcase in one hand and his phone in the other. Toby put his suitcase by the door before entering the kitchen to be greeted with some toast. He sat down and began to eat, "Can't I stay with granddad?" he asked.

Clara sighed as she sipped her tea, "No. He and Linda have to work I'm afraid. Come on! It will be fun! Alex and Connor are both going so at least you won't be bored. And perhaps you could make friends with Ella."

Toby groaned, "Why does she have to go?! She's only been in our class once!"

"She's still apart of the class, Toby. At least try to make an effort and be nice. I don't need any issues today. You have a habit of picking on the new kid and if I find out that you have harmed Ella in any way, you will be grounded. That's a promise." Clara explained, "Now come on. We have to leave in five!"

"Wh-what?" Toby questioned, "It's only like eight thirty! We aren't leaving the school til ten!"

"Me, Miss Saxon and Mr Pink all have to be there early to make sure that everything is set." she said, "That's what you get for having a mother who is also a teacher." Sometimes Toby hated having a teacher for a mum. Clara then finished her tea before placing the mug into the sink, she then reached into her back pocket and pulled out a twenty pound note and handed it to Toby, "Here. You can buy whatever you want as we're going to be walking around a village this afternoon. We're going on a walk tomorrow morning and we will leave at about four pm."

Toby gave her a genuine smile, "Thanks, mum." he deposited the money into his back pocket.

* * *

Once they arrived at the school it was nine o clock, so all of the students who weren't going on the trip had arrived for lessons, "Just be thankful that this trip is non-school uniform." Clara said to Toby as they exited the car. They both went to the boot of the car and took the suitcases out before locking the car and heading into the school. They walked towards Clara's English classroom as that was where all of the students and teachers were meeting. Once they arrived, Missy Saxon, Danny Pink, Adrian Davies and Harold Simm. Mr Simm wasn't going on the camping trip, he was just here to make sure that everything went according to plan.

"One of the parents has volunteered to be a supervisor on this trip because we don't have any spare teachers to help." Harold said.

"Okay." Clara said as Toby sat down at his desk.

"The coach should be here soon." Danny stated. Moments later, Clara saw Ella enter the room along with her father John.

"You must be John Smith!" Mr Simm exclaimed, "Thanks for volunteering. I'm Harold Simm."

"No problem." John replied as Ella sat in her chair next to Toby's.

"Good to meet you, John. Adrian Davies." Adrian shook John's hand.

John also shook Missy's hand, "Name's Missy Saxon."

John then turned to face Clara, he smiled at her, "Nice to see you again, Clara."

"Nice to see you to." she couldn't withhold her own smile. Clara would never have guessed that John would have been the one to volunteer.

* * *

Once all the students were here, they all exited the building with their suitcases and headed towards the coach. The students left their suitcases by the side of the coach before they all clambered on followed by Danny, Adrian and Missy leaving Clara and John to put all of the suitcases into the side compartment of the coach.

"So... why did you volunteer?" Clara asked, "Doesn't seem like something you would do."

"To be completely honest. Jack is the one who volunteered for me." John said as he put some suitcases into the compartment.

Clara laughed slightly, "Of course." Once they had finished putting the suitcases in, they closed the compartment. It was no 10:30am, they were supposed to leave thirty minutes ago... Clara and John made their way onto the coach and took their seats up at the front. Adrian and Missy were sitting near the back to make sure none of the students caused any trouble. Danny was sitting behind Clara and John, he was marking some papers that were due in for Wednesday and he had his headphones in to block out the sound of talking. The rest of the chairs were filled with students. Obviously, Toby and his friends Alex and Connor were sitting right at the back. Ella was sitting in the chair in front of Toby's and she was sitting next to a girl called Brenna Grouds.

Once the coach took off, Clara said to John, "Lemme guess... Once I left yesterday, they teased you... right?"

"Bingo." John sighed, "Jack and Mickey can be extremely annoying sometimes. When you left, by brother David and his girlfriend Rose showed up aswell. They also gave me grief."

"Wish I could've seen it." Clara smiled once again.

At the back of the bus, both Ella and Toby were glaring at Clara and John. Ella turned around in her seat to look behind her at Toby, "What?" Toby asked.

"I think your mum has a crush on my dad." she said.

"And I think your dad has a crush on my mum." Toby replied, "It's not a good thing."

"No it is not." Ella agreed.

Toby sighed, "You hate me, right?"

"With a passion." Ella stated, "Same goes for you right? You hate me with a passion." Toby nodded in agreement. Toby and Ella instantly started to dislike each other as soon as Clara sat them next to each other, "Well I was thinking..." Ella started.

"Go on." Toby said.

"Maybe if we show them how much we hate each other... they won't want to be together through the fear of us hating each other even more."

"Show them that we don't want to be anywhere near each other..." Toby added causing Ella to nod.

Ella held out her hand, "This is the only time we work on something together. Deal?"

Toby shook her hand, "Deal." Ella then turned back around and started to talk to Brenna. Toby looked at Alex and Connor who were talking before deciding to put his headphones in and have a quick nap.


	4. Pretty Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John tests out his guitar. But he doesn't intend for Clara to his this particular song...

Toby thought back to what his mother had said, 'If I find out that you have harmed Ella in any way, you will be grounded. That's a promise.' Toby smirked to himself as the coach pulled into the services. Once again... Clara was all bark, no bite. Toby would give her the puppy dog eyes and she would let him off. Sometimes he was glad that he got his mother's eyes. And besides... Ella was in on it so she wouldn't get offended by anything he said and he wouldn't get offended by anything she said.

Once the coach stopped, Missy stood up and announced that if anyone needed the toilet and food they best go now as there wouldn't be another chance. They had been travelling for an hour and yet they still had another two hours to go considering the traffic. All of the students and teachers got off the bus, "Be back in thirty minutes!" Missy exclaimed. All the students nodded in agreement before heading into the building. John and Clara looked over and they raised their eyebrows in confusion as they saw Ella and Toby fist-bump before going their separate ways.

"Maybe they're getting along." Clara stated. John nodded.

* * *

"We cause havoc when we get back on the coach, okay?" Toby said with a smirk. Ella nodded as they fist-bumped and she turned to head over to Brenna.

* * *

"So we're gonna be outside all day." John stated.

"Not exactly." Missy replied, "We're camping outside of a leisure centre so we can go inside to eat if that makes you feel better."

John and Clara nodded, "We can eat inside if a storm hits. You know how the UK is." Clara said.

Danny and Adrian had gone to Starbucks to get some coffee. Missy then walked off and headed to WHSmith to buy sandwiches and drinks. Clara and John decided to head over to classic McDonalds, where most of the students were ordering their food. John looked at his watch, "Fifteen minutes. Then we have to be back on the coach." Clara saw her son and his two friends exiting McDonalds, soon followed by Ella and Brenna.

Clara nodded, "Best hurry up then." John and Clara then made their way to the queue.

* * *

Once Clara had ordered her 'Doctor' Pepper and a Chicken burger. John ordered a Big Mac and also a 'Doctor' Pepper. They had five minutes left before the coach had to leave so they both made their way car park and got onto the coach. They both sat back down up at the front, most of the students were already seated and so were the teachers. Moments later, Ella and Brenna got onto the coach, John and Clara looked at her in confusion, "What happened, Ella?" John questioned.

Ella sighed, "Toby decided to pour his bottle of water over me." she muttered before heading back to her seat, concealing her smirk.

"I am so sorry, John. I will talk to him." Clara assured.

"Don't blame yourself, Clara. It's okay." he replied before taking a sip of his drink.

"I told Toby that he would be grounded if he caused any trouble with Ella."

John raised his eyebrow, "I could've sworn that they were getting along earlier..."

"Turns out they weren't." Clara shrugged. Toby soon entered the bus, Clara glared at him, "Toby."

"Yes?" he asked all innocently.

"You better apologise to Ella or you WILL get detention."

Toby sighed, "Okay okay! I will! Promise." he headed to the back of the coach and sat down next to Alex and Connor. Clara looked behind her and saw Ella turn around to face Toby... he must be apologising.

* * *

Ella turned around to face Toby, "Next time. You're the one who is getting water thrown over him." Ella stated.

Toby shrugged, "All part of the plan."

* * *

Clara let out a sigh before turning back around to face the front. A few minutes later, once all the students were on board, they set off.

"Once again, I'm sorry for my son's behaviour."

"Trust me, Clara. It's perfectly fine. I think that they're just trying to get along... but it's difficult for them." John explained.

Clara smiled, "Weird way to get along."

"They're teenagers. We don't really understand them." John chuckled.

"No we don't." she agreed.

* * *

As they arrived, the coach parked just outside the small leisure centre. There was a huge field behind it where they would set up their tents. It was almost 1pm so all the students ran inside to eat, food was being provided inside. Missy, Danny and Adrian went inside to control the twenty five students... Clara and John took a few suitcases out, Danny and Adrian would take the rest out in a bit.

Clara looked at John in confusion as he pulled out a case from the coach, "What's that?" she asked.

"Oh, it's nothing really." he started, "It's just my guitar. Ella insisted that I brought it to entertain the students."

"You play guitar?" Clara questioned. Clara was getting increasingly more intrigued by John, "You plan on playing it later?"

He shrugged, "I don't know."

"Well erm... I would like to hear you play." she smiled.

John smiled back, "Really?"

"Really." she nodded.

* * *

"What are we gonna do next?" Toby asked Ella.

"I have some sort of idea that may or may not annoy you." she replied.

"As long as it stops them from getting together..." Toby stated before walking over to Alex and Connor who were sitting down at one of the tables, he took his seat next to Alex.

* * *

Clara's phone dinged as she took another suitcase out of the coach, she then took her phone out of her pocket and read the text, 'Let me see him, Clara - James'

"You look worried." John said.

"Oh- It's er- it's nothing." she exclaimed as she put the phone back in her pocket.

"Are you sure that you're okay?"

She quickly nodded, "Y-yeah." she tried to convince herself. James wanted to get back together with Clara because he loved that he could control her and she wouldn't do anything about it because of fear. But she wasn't going to let James get into her head whilst she was on this camping trip. Clara was so tempted to block James' number but she knew that that would make the situation worse.

After taking the suitcases out, students started to rush out of the building to collect them followed by the teachers. John put his guitar bag around his shoulder as he retrieved his own case. It was now two pm and everyone went to the field where they would set up camp. The students and teachers started to set up their tents. John then turned to Clara and said, "I'll be back in a minute." he said, leaving his suitcase on the grass but taking his guitar bag with him. Clara looked at him in confusion as he made his way into the leisure centre.

John had gone into the leisure centre to ask one of the staff members if they owned an amp and, coincidentally, they did. John decided to take the amp, and his guitar, into a small room, which he assumed was a bar, to test if it still worked. Once he plugged the guitar in he sat down on a nearby stool before playing the tunes to the first song that came to his mind...

Clara hadn't seen John in almost half an hour and they were leaving for the village soon... so she decided to go and find him. Upon entering the leisure centre, she asked the woman at the front desk, "Have you seen John? Tall guy with a guitar?"

She nodded, "Down that hall." she pointed towards a corridor, "I think he's in the bar."

"Thanks." Clara smiled as she headed down the hall. She raised her eyebrow as she came closer towards the bar door... she could hear music. She slightly opened the door and peered in, she could see John and he was strumming a familiar tune... then it clicked in Clara's head as he started to quietly sing the lyrics as he played.

"Pretty Woman, walking down the street. Pretty Woman, the kind I'd like to meet..." he trailed off. Clara was now 100% sure that John was... would she dare say 'hot'? "Perfect tune." she heard him mumble as he stood up from the stool. He then sighed before his eyes landed on the slightly ajar door, "Whoever's out there... I'm guessing that you heard me..."

Clara bit her lip as she entered, "Yep."

John's eyes widened, "I was just erm... m-making sure that the sound was all right. Y'know... for tonight!" he exclaimed. He didn't particularly want Clara to hear him this song like that...

She nodded, "You sound good so far."

"Thanks." he smiled.

"You wanna come to village with all of us, then? We'll only be there for a few hours."

John nodded, "Sure."


	5. Not Married

They were all currently walking through a small village, at least the sun was beaming down and no rain was present. Toby and Ella managed to slip away from the group to cause a bit of mayhem.

Clara soon stopped in her tracks, causing John to aswell, "Wh-What?" he asked, "What's wrong?"

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the group of students who were a few steps ahead of her, "Where's Toby and Ella?" this caused John to look around in confusion. As if on cue, an alarm sounded off in a nearby shop, "I'm guessing that's them..." Clara mumbled.

"Yeah..." John groaned. The manager of the shop soon exited the building with Toby and Ella, "What happened?" John asked.

"These two were caught stealing by some of my staff!" the man said with a hint of anger, "Look, Mr and Mrs whoever you are!"

"Oh no we erm... we aren't marri-" Clara started.

"I don't want to hear it! Keep your children under control!" he said before entering the shop again.

"You two are nothing but trouble when you're together." Clara stated as she folded her arms, angrily. Toby and Ella just shrugged before turning to head back over to the rest of the students. Both John and Clara didn't have the courage to punish them.

John sighed as he and Clara started walking again, "We should do something about this..." he muttered, "You are right. They are nothing but trouble when they're together. Perhaps you could just give them a detention or..."

Clara groaned, "I don't know. I think they're just trying to have a bit of fun... It is meant to be a trip afterall. I'll give them detention if they do anymore damage." she assured. John nodded.

* * *

They soon decided to head back to the camp as it was almost time for dinner. Toby was currently talking to his friends and Ella was talking to Brenna. Ella and Toby occasionally gave each other a glare to show their true hatred.

"They'll get along eventually." Clara said as John sat next to her. They were in a huge hall which was filled with tables. All of the children were enjoying their meal of choice whilst the adults just stuck to a cup tea or coffee. John handed Clara her cup of tea. She thanked him.

He sighed, "I hope so. Who knows what kind of trouble they'll end up in."

"Hopefully, it's not much worse than stealing."

"Hopefully." he agreed as he took a sip of his coffee.

Clara then asked him, "So... You still planning on playing the guitar later?"

He just shrugged, "I'm not sure. I'n having second thoughts. I don't think that the kids'll be interested in something like that."

"Does Ella like it?"

"She's only ever heard me play it once or twice, but she didn't seem too captivated."

A small smile then appeared on Clara's face, "Like I said earlier... You sounded good. I'm one hundred percent sure that the kids will enjoy it."

"Maybe tomorrow." he said.

"Oh, come on." Clara pleaded, "I really want to hear you play properly." she took a long sip of her tea. She decided to use the 'puppy-dog' eyes on him. It's worked in the past so why wouldn't it work now?

He raised his eyebrow at her, he felt like he couldn't escape the gaze he was receiving from Clara, "What are you doing with your eyes?"

"Nothing. They're just my normal eyes." she stated with a slight smirk. John couldn't find the will power to look away from Clara's eyes. After a few, rather awkward, seconds- Clara was the one to look away slightly, "So erm-" she paused before glancing at him, "You gonna play?"

He instantly nodded, "Yes."

* * *

Well... He _was_ going to play. Until Toby and Ella decided to get into trouble once more which eventually sent all the students off to their tents early. 7pm.

Toby had chucked a bowl of soup at Ella and she had also returned the favour. This started a food fight amongst the students. The adults, apart from Adrian and Clara, had managed to calm them all down. Adrian and Clara had to go outside to make sure all the tents were properly set up. Once all the students were in their tents, after some effort, John and Clara sat on a nearby log. Adrian, Missy and Danny had gone into the large tent with multiple rooms so they could go over the plan for tomorrow.

"I was really looking forward to hearing you play the guitar." Clara said as she rubbed her hands to try and keep warm. There were a few clouds in the sky but some stars were starting to become visible as night time approached.

John nodded, "It's probably for the best. Don't want you going deaf."

"You're exaggerating." she assured him, "You better promise that I'll get to hear you play before we leave."

"No no..." he mumbled.

"Oh, come on!"

He let out a sigh, "Okay. But only part of a song. NOT a full song."

"Good enough." she replied. She wasn't looking forward to sleeping in a tent... she had always hated the thought of sleeping on the rock hard ground with bugs crawling around. Missy, Danny and Adrian got to share the big tent with multiple rooms. And Clara and John had their own tents.

John then stood up and stretched, "Surprisingly... I'm actually quite tired. So, I'm gonna go head to the tent."

Clara nodded, "Yeah. I might as well read and then sleep."

As she stood up, John placed a hand on her shoulder, "Toby and Ella will get along, Clara. I promise I'll talk to Ella about it." Clara bit her lip in response as John removed his hand and headed into his tent.

Why was her heart pounding so fast?


End file.
